


Whosoever Be Worthy

by estelendur



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-08
Updated: 2012-07-08
Packaged: 2017-11-09 11:00:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/454710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/estelendur/pseuds/estelendur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An expanded/edited version of <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/454278/chapters/780117">this ficlet</a>. </p><p>Captain America is worthy of the power of Thor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Whosoever Be Worthy

**Author's Note:**

> If you like slash, this is pre-slash.  
> If you don't, it's gen.

When everyone else in the Tower rubbed Steve the wrong way — Tony was being Tony, Natasha and Clint were brooding or being their own little social bubble, Bruce was trying to hide from himself — he could always count on Thor to cheer him up. So one gray rainy day, when all of Steve’s sketches turned out melancholy and everyone else’s mood matched the weather, he knocked on Thor’s door and asked to spar.

Thor, as the only one in the Tower who actively enjoyed storms, suggested that they spar on the roof. Steve agreed on the grounds that a) practicing in inclement weather is good strategy, b) after they got going he’d hardly notice, and c) why not? They tussled and fought for a good hour or so, hand-to-hand for the most part, although they ended with a few bouts that included the shield and Mjölnir. They ended up not tired but invigorated, dissecting the session for almost as long as they had spent sparring, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses, and how they could apply what they’d learned to fighting as part of the Avengers team.

At last Steve noticed he’d been soaked to the skin – it hadn’t stopped raining, and in fact might have gotten worse. “Maybe it’s time to go inside?” he suggested

Thor clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Very well.” He smiled. “You are a good man, Steven. I am honored to be one of your comrades.”

“Thanks, buddy. You’re a good man too, y’know.” He nudged Mjölnir with the side of his foot; they’d all heard about the worthiness restriction on its use by now, which had been a large part of what had led him to trust Thor.

To his utter shock, Mjölnir moved with his nudge. “Thor, look at this,” he said, and nudged it again. It shifted slightly. They looked at the hammer; they looked at each other; they looked at the hammer.

“If any in Midgard are worthy of the use of Mjölnir, you ought to be among them,” Thor said. “Lift it.”

So Steve grasped the handle and pulled – and the hammer came with him.

“This is marvelous!” exclaimed Thor. “As well, it is a distinct tactical advantage – although we could only use it as a surprise once. See if you can call it to you.”

Steve set it down and stepped away. He held out his hand and thought ‘come here’ at the hammer, feeling faintly ridiculous and distinctly skeptical. He’d had enough trouble with the idea that one of the pagan gods of old had shown up to be his teammate; now he, Steve, the kid from Brooklyn, was trying to perform magic, or something very much like it.

Not to his surprise, nothing happened. “Oh well,” he said, and shrugged.

“Wait, my friend. Perhaps you need to start with something simpler. I certainly was not able to use the hammer fully when I first received it. Throw it from you. It should return.”

Steve tossed Mjölnir a short distance. Mjölnir flew back to his hand. He threw it again. It returned again. The feeling was actually utterly exhilarating: he didn’t need to do the careful assessment of angles and rebounds that he did when he threw the shield, but it returned perfectly every time. 

When Mjölnir thunked into his hand, he noticed a certain sensation, slightly dislocated from his body but centered in the back of his mind. He set Mjölnir down again, and focused on that sensation, the feeling of this hammer flying into his hand. He closed his eyes to focus better, feeling slightly less ridiculous than before.

The ghost of sensation was replaced by actual sensation: he had succeeded in summoning Thor’s hammer. “Yes!” he and Thor cried in unison.

They discovered that Thor could summon the hammer from Steve’s hands, and Steve could summon the hammer from Thor’s hands. So, to get Steve used to it, they played catch, laughing and exclaiming with the wonder of it all.

“Now, my friend, let us see if you can fly!” said Thor, half-yelling over the rising thunder.

“How do I fly?” asked Steve. “What if I fall?”

“We shall fly together,” said Thor, stepping up and embracing him. “Spin the hammer and then throw it from you, but do not let go; the handle or the strap both will do. If you falter, I will take over.”

“Sure thing,” said Steve, and did as Thor directed.

He was flying. He was flying! Under his own power, not dragged along by Iron Man. In the open air, not in the Quinjet. He was flying! He laughed, gleeful. Then, suddenly, he did falter, his focus going from the sensation of being pulled along by the hammer to the sensation of flight, and slowed down without meaning to. 

“Thor!” he almost yelped, grabbing on with his free arm and wrapping his legs around Thor’s.

Thor took the hammer from him gracefully, and brought them back to the roof without mishap.  
“Should we tell Tony about this new discovery?” asked Thor.

Steve thought about it for a bit and shook his head. “Tony could use some shaking up. He thinks he knows everything, and just for once I’d like to know something he doesn’t.  
Thor laughed. “I like the way you think. I agree: too much certainty does nobody good.  
“You seem shaken. Are you well?” He put a hand on Steve’s shoulder and another on his cheek.

“Yeah. I’ve just never flown before.” He took a breath, which was, yes, slightly shaky, and leaned into Thor’s solid bulk.

Thor nodded, held Steve away from him slightly, kissed Steve on the left cheek, right cheek, mouth. “You are brave. I, too, was frightened when first I flew. Now, we should celebrate your newfound ability!”

Steve blinked. “Celebrate how?”

“In whatever manner you feel appropriate! Although, perhaps, we should begin by changing into dry clothes.”

Steve laughed, leaned in, returned the three (ritualized?) kisses slightly awkwardly. “Yes. That would be appropriate. Let’s celebrate by watching a movie neither of us has heard of.”

“An excellent idea.”

—

So morning found the two of them asleep on the couch, curled up next to each other, Mjölnir cuddled between then. That is, until Clint dumped a bucket of water on them, Tony videotaping because “the internet needs to know!”, Natasha smirking from the sidelines, Bruce sipping his herbal tea in the corner. But Steve and Thor just looked at each other and laughed.


End file.
